I was told this was for sipping ice tea,and the bulb at the end prevented seeds or pulp to enter your mouth.The bulb is hinged for cleaning,and screws into the sterling straw.It's somewhat ornate,and the tip seems to be brass.

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potrero, 6 years agoI googled "Industria Mamboreta Argentina," which it says in the picture, and it seems this is called a tea diffuser - basically an elaborate straw you can use to sip tea? Seems like a lot of work compared to using a tea ball or tea bag!

Jim Barnes, 6 years agoIn the summer of 1965 in Argentina I bought a couple of these and cups (in low grade silver) used for drinking hot tea--mate (or is it matte? in either case pronounced ma taa with a short a and then a long a sound).

Patricia Greeven, 6 years agoI have a customer who brought an item like this in to my gallery........she said that she had been told it was be filled with powder and the owner would place it in her bosom and blow powder on herself!!!!!
What do YOU think?

Judith, 6 years agoThank you Sandy. Not sure what it's worth,but I like them.

Sandy, 6 years agoI can't read the marks but I can say that many mate spoons (and, yes, mate is a powder) are made with mixed metals....including gold and silver....I have 3 in my inventory right now....1 is silverplate and only worth about $25....but two are silver with gold added (it looks like yours has gold on it's handle), and if so it might be worth about $125

Judith, 6 years agoThanks again,and where are you located.I have around 5,and they are all different.It took years to acquire that many.Thanks for the info.,Judith

Sandy, 6 years agoLouisville

Phylos, 6 years agoI have three of them. Two of them we use to drink what the gauchos in Brazil call chimarão, which is made with mate tea, or erva mate. When sugar is added to it, it’s called mate doce, or sweet tea. Some people use hot water but when it’s sweet some add milk to it. The cup, which is made from a gourd, ornate in silver or gold, is where the powdered tea is placed. Then a little bit of hot water to settle the tea, once that is done, the bomba, that silver with gold object is placed inside. The first sips are pretty nasty, but afterwards it gets better. People in Brazil believe that it helps to loose weight.

Judith, 6 years agoThanks for that info. It sure sounds as if the Brazilians take their tea very seriously.Well, I guess we Americans take our coffee pretty earnest.

Phylos, 6 years agoI forgot to add that chimarrão (with two rr) is usually sipped by the vaqueros, cowboys by a campfire. The cuia, (the gourd cup) is passed around like a peace pipe, over and over again. Yak! This is the real gaucho way of drinking the chimarrão in Brazil. Chimarrão is a social drink. Whenever the compadres get together they drink chimarrão. For many years, only the old folks kept this tradition, but lately I heard that the young people are starting to drink it, with the exception of the (passing around thing). Also note that this tradition exist only in Rio Grande do Sul, the gaucho state. In other parts of Brazil, people don’t even know what chimarrão means.

Judith, 6 years agoWOW! Are you a reincarnated Vaquer,or a Gaucho.Were you ever in Brazil,and sat around a camp fire sipping chimarrao with the local cowboys.